In a Victory for the Election Process, CMM Secures Certification of Election Results as Special Counsel to Village of Poquott

Posted: July 20th, 2017

In its role as Special Counsel to the Village of Poquott and Of Counsel to the Village Attorney for the Village of Poquott, Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, a premier law firm with offices in Ronkonkoma and Bridgehampton, successfully secured the certification of the results of the recent village trustee election. The outcome is a victory for the Village of Poquott and the election process.

Although Poquott officials maintained that the Suffolk County Board of Elections certified the final vote tallies in the June 20 election, Deborah Stevens, a candidate who lost her bid for one of the two open trustee seats by two votes, challenged those results in a lawsuit in Supreme Court, Suffolk County, seeking a re-canvass and/or correction of alleged errors concerning certain contested ballots. On behalf of the Village, CMM moved by order to show cause to dismiss the lawsuit by Stevens and certify the findings of the Suffolk County Board of Elections, declaring John Richardson and Jeffrey Koppelson the winners of the election. CMM persuasively argued that the numerous deficiencies in Stevens’s petition required its dismissal.

After a conference with the Court, the parties reached an agreement that CMM’s motion on behalf of the Village of Poquott to certify the election results would be granted, certifying that Richardson and Koppelson won the open seats. Further, Stevens agreed to withdraw her petition.

CMM partner Scott Middleton, who handled this matter on behalf of the Village, said of the outcome, “I don’t know what motivated this lawsuit, but the Village took it very seriously. This is the right result for the voters of the Village of Poquott under the Election Law of New York State.”

About CMM
Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP is a premier law firm with offices in Ronkonkoma and Bridgehampton, New York. Over the past generation, CMM attorneys have played a central role in the most critical legal issues and transactions affecting Long Island. The firm has earned the prestigious HIA-LI Business Achievement Award and LIBN Corporate Citizenship Award, a spot on the U.S. News & World Report list of Best Law Firms, and the coveted title of Best Law Firm on Long Island. Learn more at www.cmmllp.com.